Ambulances and fire trucks were dispatched to the Northern Virginia home of Sen. Robert Byrd Tuesday morning.

A neighbor of the 91-year-old West Virginia Democrat said several ambulances were outside his residence in McLean, Va., and a Byrd spokesman said the senator suffered a fall in his home. An officer at the McLean Fire Department said that a unit was dispatched at 9:10 to the address where Byrd lives, but he declined to comment on the substance of the response.

Byrd  the longest-serving senator in the nations history  has been absent from the Senate for much of the year and has been in and out of the hospital battling various ailments.

Byrd apparently stood up too fast this morning in his home and fell down, said Jesse Jacobs, a spokesman for the senator. To err on the side of caution his caregiver called an ambulance. He was taken to the hospital where he is currently being checked out. At this point in time there is no indication that he will be admitted.

He ought to resign from the Senate and let the citizens of WV have a senator who is able to function as such. Although I admit he is one of the few Dems with the fortitude to stand up for the Constitution against Obama, and there would be a loss in that area.

That said why the heck don’t these old farts retire..I am all for the elderly working they are the most intelligent people around,but when it gets to the point of Byrd spending more time in bed at home than in Washington then it is time he is gone...Do they take this man to Washington to vote and then take him home in Air Force One ever day..

The fire departments are volunter in WV. My home town back there has yard sales,they put on dinners to raise money. I sent them a donation check each year. My cousin has been fire chief for years. What ever they are doing when call comes in they run for the fire house or drive their self to the fire or accident location. Its country & many accidents more then fires. MH CA

In DC they send both EMT and Fire Trucks for every drunk found on the street. I always thought that this was a massive waste of funds. DC was also against privatizing EMT services. Look for the union label.

Even though the armed forces were then segregated, Byrd was a World War II draft dodger:
“I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.”

Sometimes it is, but if you need equipment on the engine to extricate someone, remove a fixed object impaling them so they can be transported with the object in place until medical personnel can remove it in the hospital, etc, you want the equipment there right away. The delay can be the difference between life and death.

People who call 9-1-1 aren't always completely accurate nor comprehensive in their description of the situation.

39
posted on 09/22/2009 8:10:22 AM PDT
by Smokin' Joe
(How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)

First, many paramedic units are staffed at BLS levels and require a driver from a different unit if they need to make an Advanced Life Support transport.

Second, fire department resources may be closer, so they can get first responders on scene more quickly. Most fire departments require all firefighter to be at least EMTs, and many departments are all paramedic.

I don’t know the protocol in the area, but in Milwaukee, the fire department is dispatched to provide EMS care, then a private ambulance is called for transport unless the patient needs advanced life support transport. This is a common protocol in larger cities.

Finally, in many cases (not this one), when a person has fallen, the fire department will be needed to force entry into the house.

Senators like Thurmond, Kennedy, and Byrd are just props. Their staff write and run everything. Sen Quentin Burdik (sp?), D-ND, was so old and feeble it was found is staff was voting for him whenever possible. Not sure how that happens but either way not an eyebrow was raised. Since he was a Dim it didn't matter; if it was a Pubby the Dims would have had a conniption fit.

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